The Switch Jinx
by OneWithHiccups
Summary: Hiccup and Toothless get in all sorts of trouble together, but this time a cruel witch is involved. With each in the other's form, the two brothers are grounded. Is there a cure for the curse, or have they seen the last of their days flying together?
1. Chapter 1

As soon as he woke up, Toothless began searching. For the small one, the one who was frail and lonely except when with him. Wide Eyes, Little Freckle, Sprite of Flight-and all the other names Toothless had attributed to the boy. He searched for his human.

Once he rolled to his stomach, it became clear that something was very wrong. His limbs were thin and it was hard to balance, his skin was thinner and more sensitive to the rocks and grass of the ground. He rose his head and found his neck weaker than usual, or perhaps his head was heavier, and his eyes were duller. His vision was perhaps worse than it would have been due to the black fur that hung from the top of his head, just in front of his face.

His ears, too, and his very mind; something was wrong! Instead of hearing the lush wind and breeze and water, the sounds that filled his mind were a string of mumbles. _This is-s strange. So... w-weird._ It was a sound similar to those Little Freckle made-

The thought yanked him back into focus. His human was still missing. He again grappled with the frustration of trying to push himself to his feet, and saw that his limbs were light and pale. "Hu... wh-hat is..." Just as he got a slight balance, a rude snigger came from behind him.

He swiveled in a desperate effort to keep his stomach protected while looking. However, he suddenly realized that his wings were _gone_ , and that without them he felt exposed. His eyes, nevertheless, found the source of the sound. A human, with a cover of thin animal skin that was adorned with feathers and shiny metals. Her hair was practically white. Unfamiliar, yet her expression suggested that perhaps they knew each other.

"Well, Blackie? Do you like the new ride?" She smiled. "It's strange that your skin isn't dark as well, but I guess your soul really did synchronize with his."

Toothless tried to assess her but his now pathetic eyesight was a terrible judge of her as a threat. At least the muscles in his face weren't different as he shot a vicious glare. He growled.

"Oh use your words, you brute."

Toothless was shocked from this. Not only did he understand what she said, but his mind began immediately putting together the response he was to give her in the same tongue. "Wu... What do you want?"

She beamed, perhaps because of finally hearing his voice. She also seemed to find his question humorous. "I've already got what I want." She stepped to the side, lowering her head and motioning to a small green lump by her feet. Upon closer inspection, it was moving slightly.

Toothless felt a strange tug in his stomach, and he crawled forward without noticing. "Give it to me." It was unexplainable, but he needed whatever it was.

She only smiled, rolling the small thing over with the heel of her boot. It flipped on its back, and Toothless saw it to be a small green dragon. He lurched forward again. "Give!" He shouted, scrambling forward on his clumsy limbs. He was a few feet away from her when his vision was blocked by a huge pelt of dark animal fur.

Then all at once, he was on his back and tears were forced into his eyes as his naked skin was scraped by rocks and pine needles. He gasped in pain, quickly rolling to his stomach by instinct but moaning again from the new sizzle that was born when the scratches hit cold air.

"Cover yourself, beast," she said as he writhed. The blanket of soft black animal skin fell on his bare body. "And don't ever get near my sky again."

Toothless struggled to find his bearings, scratching at the ground and mumbling things to himself. But as he turned to attack again he found there was no one to hate. She was gone, and all that was on the incline of forest was the small green dragon. He practically dove for it, slipping to his elbows more than once trying to get up the small hill. He finally stopped beside it, suddenly wary. What was it, again?

The little dragon was mostly olive green, but little brown speckles spotted his back and mainly his face. He had two sets of horns on either side of his head, the higher one larger than the lower, and two smaller horns were in a line on the top of his head and faced backwards to be the first of a stripe of scaley spine. His tail was about as long as he was; and in truth, the dragon was about as big as a raccoon.

Toothless questioned himself. He wondered why he had so desperately gone to the little creature instead of leaving to find his human, but the little creature shifted. It made tiny growls and purrs of discontent, then rose its head straight to Toothless and opened its eyes.

Again, Toothless found himself irresistibly drawn to the thing and scooped it up in his arms. This time, however, he knew why. This was him... what was the name that they made in their tongue? The sound the Golden Girl that he so adored called him? "Hik... cup." Yes, Hik-cup. The same scent, movements, emerald eyes. Though small and very much a dragon, this was him.

* * *

Waking up usually meant another day, but the sun was already going down and everything ached. There were also vivid green eyes staring down at him. _How_ _does he know my name? And why is he so huge?_ Hiccup stretched in the man's grasp, thinking that perhaps this was a giant.

But something else was wrong. "Aaouu..." Hiccup's mouth snapped shut almost as soon as he opened it, the sound coming out of it shocking him to his core. It suddenly struck him that everything was foreign; his mouth, arms, entire body. His ears were especially off. He was aware of birds and could tell there were four of them chirping among themselves. The wind seemed to shove the trees around him much more vigorously and clearly than before, and no longer did he feel compelled to record or make dialogue about it all. In fact, he didn't feel _able_ to do such things.

It disturbed him to no end, and he wriggled around violently to get on his feet. By the time he struggled to his belly, his head was pounding like mad. The touch of this man was sending him into a panic. _I need to get away..._

The first instinct was to spring away, which he managed to do while disregarding the concerned shout from the man. However, it was only a few yards until he fell on his face. His legs were strange, fighting for dominance with his arms and making him trip. "Ouuuaah!" He let out a frustrated groan as he stared at the ground on his belly. _What is going ON?!_

Hearing shuffling behind him, he tensed yet again but figured he couldn't flee in his current state. He allowed the hands to wrap around his body again, although they didn't flip him over like he feared. He was simply turned around to look at the man.

Those _eyes_ were so eerily familiar, and Hiccup couldn't help but stay still under their gaze. It was such a nostalgic feeling.

"Hik-cup." The little dragon was startled, since the voice seemed so very familiar even though he'd never heard it before. But those _eyes_ he had definitely seen. Hiccup took a large breath as realization surged through him. _Tooth..._ The man pulled the corners of his mouth to the side, a bit awkwardly, and spoke again. "Yeh, Hik-cup. It's me."

The tiny dragon fainted.


	2. Chapter 2

((Quite the side note: the cover photo for this story was my inspiration, and the looks of both characters. Yay.))

 _Could it have been a dream? Beard of Thor, it had to have been a dream._ But the birds and trees were still loud and drowning out his own thoughts. He was in the dirt again, but his skin couldn't feel it as much as it ought to. It was like he was encased in thick leather.

From then on, his thoughts were basically a stream of _No no no no no no,_ accompanied by panicked twisting and writhing of his tiny scaly body. He was a dragon. Tiny, green, fire-breathing and cold blooded; the whole shebang. He tried formulating a plan to get out of such an insane predicament, but again the words in his mind just would not _form_ as they always used to. He felt reduced as a being, boiled down to his panic and a heart that beat much too loudly. It was instinct for Hiccup to figure out what to do, but it was instinct for dragon to simply act without thinking. And there, he looped in his struggle, surely to tire himself out if he were never interrupted.

* * *

Toothless was astounded. It wasn't one of awe or curiosity, nothing so aloof. No, the little dragon he was watching writhe on the floor in utter frustration gave him a chill of pity. He felt so sorrowful for his Hik-cup, that Sprite of Flight that always smiled during trouble no matter his odds. To see that very soul in such despair brought Toothless to the same emotion.

So he came closer and hummed the words he had been practicing. "Hik-cup. I get us out." He cleared his throat, again alarmed by the strangeness of it. It was deeper than Hik-cup's ever was, but raspy in an unused way. He supposed it was a product of his usual throaty growls. "I get us back, Hik-cup." Toothless could see the tiny thing squirm into facing him, giant green eyes staring into his with such surprise. It was strange, Toothless agreed, that this had happened to them. He also knew how frantic his human got when things suddenly went wrong; sometimes the human would panic for a short time, but he always composed himself and pulled through in the end. Toothless knew this time would show the same strong Hik-cup that he knew.

Toothless closed his eyes and tried to make a gurgle deep in his throat as he always used to do, though it only came out as a deep hum. He then leaned forward and down, pressing his forehead against the small dragon's. He stayed in this position for as long as it took for the tiny head to return the sentiment and press against his own soft and non-scaley forehead. The sensation was strange, yet he suddenly realized that this was exactly how it usually was for Hik-cup. That was right! Toothless was now a human, and Hik-cup a dragon. When had it happened, and more urgently _how_? He wished he was used to this brain so he could figure the answer as Hik-cup always did.

Opening his eyes again, Toothless felt the corners of his mouth turn up as he saw the familiar eyes of Hik-cup staring back at him. The smile was something his did subconsciously, and he didn't take note of it. All he could think was what to do next. What ought he do, now that they were confused yet together?

Together. If that nasty woman had meant to immobilize them completely and render them helpless, she had missed the only thing that might have done so. Separating them would have been devastating for sure, and her lack of doing so would prove to be a stupid mistake. Toothless would see to it.

After they were safe, that is; the thought quickly dawned on Toothless as he noticed the sky dimming to a lavender hue. To be in the forest, each practically helpless and at _night_ to boot, was absolutely _not_ what Toothless wanted to happen. They had to get back to the village.

Toothless cleared his throat and reached down to his Hik-cup, setting his hands on either side of the small frame. "Town... where the town, Hik-cup?" He glared in slight frustration as he grappled for the right words with his new tongue and mind. "Where... what way the town?" Another shudder of frustration. What if he wasn't giving enough emotion to his words? Could Hik-cup's new brain even recognize the human words he was using? Surely Toothless would take his revenge on that horrible woman once they got out of this.

Just as he was losing his patience, Toothless saw Hik-cup strain to look around in the small clearing they were in. He wriggled out of Toothless' grasp, possibly because of his skittishness, and started uphill slowly.

"Way?" Toothless smiled again unknowingly as he stood and caught up to the small dragon. "I carry, Hik-cup. Don' worry." He quickly brought the green thing to his chest, cradling him protectively as he began to struggle toward the incline. As soon as it got steep, Toothless found himself staring at his feet in frustration. This was much harder than it looked. Finally, and only after tripping for the third time and nearly dropping Hik-cup, Toothless got to his knees and twisted around to set the tiny dragon his back. "Ready f'r a ride?" He mimicked what his human used to ask him in the mornings with the same happy tone as Hik-cup would use on him.

He felt the sharp prickle of claws dig through his new clothing, and the weight on his back shifted toward the center as Hik-cup returned to his normal place between Toothless' shoulder blades. Again, an incredibly warm feeling surged up into Toothless' chest and his lips quirked upward. He wondered if Hik-cup felt such vivid joy like this all the time.

Toothless touched his palms to the ground and started his way up the hill. It was a decent way to travel for the majority of the hill, but as soon as they reached the top and the ground leveled out, Toothless quickly realized more differences in his transformation. Crouching in such a way was incredibly uncomfortable on his back, as his legs were now too long to compare to his arms. The tilt of his body caused Hik-cup to slide forward and rest on the back of his head and neck. Once he felt this, knowing that without a saddle or even hands Hik-cup would soon fall, Toothless crouched again and reached around to hold onto Hik-cup's thin front limbs. "Up. Sit."

He guided the dragon to his left shoulder, encouraging him to sit. Immediately, Hik-cup stared down at the small perch and instinctively gripped with his claws. Toothless winced, again irritated with the vulnerability of his thin skin. Soon he would be bleeding.

But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he get the two to the village before the sky went completely dark, and that time was approaching quickly. Toothless reached to one side, finding purchase on a nearby tree with his new fingers to stabilize his new legs. He lowered his head and watched with his new (and noticeably inferior) eyes as he maneuvered his new feet through the darkening underbrush. Toothless would bring them home, surely. They would get help somehow. And then, once they were cured of whatever horrible disease they had contracted, he would have his revenge on that wicked woman.


End file.
